Virtua Fighter is the type of game that is easy to pick up and play, but will take a lifetime to master. Ever since its inception back in í93 it has strove to do one thing. Make the ultimate virtual fighting experience possible. The game has garnered a small, but loyal and dedicated fan base world wide. Me? Personally I am a street fighter player, but I have always secretly longed to go pro with Virtua Fighter. I have played every game in the series, but have never really had a sparring partner or teacher to guide me through advanced strats.

The matches are quick. Tables can turn in the blink of an eye. All it takes is the right counter or evade with a follow up combo to lay a crushing defeat down on the opposition. But thatís where it comes down to separating the men from the boys. 2 "Newbs" playing the game will flail out random attacks at one another until the match is through. One of them stands the victor most likely because of luck. Advanced players, however will be extremely defensive with their blocking and only attack on the offensive with a perfectly placed combo when a small window of opportunity presents itself. This leads to a match that is more interesting game play wise. And this concept is really the heart of the virtua fighter experience. The game has taken pride in the amount of detail and diversity available between the different fighting styles. There is everything from wrestling to kickboxing. Judo to Jeet Kun Do. Even mantis style vs. drunken style is now possible.

Now here we are presented with the 5th installment, Virtua Fighter 5 on the PlayStation 3. And it is hands down, the best looking fighting game yet. Characters are modeled in High-def and the movements are extremely life like and fluid. The backgrounds are all breathtaking. The music is decent and the voices are lame, but letís be honest fighting game fans. Itís the game play we care about right? VF5 pumps it up even more than VF4 EVO did and then some. With newly added offensive evades and more combos than you thought possible, VF5 is a game that will have you training like you were actually studying a martial arts.

There are a couple of new characters available as well. Eileen is a young Kung master who practices monkey style and El Blaze is a lucha libre who has a flamboyant wrestling style inspired by Mexicans Luchedores. There is also a new quest mode that lets you create your own character and travel to different arcades on your quest to become the best. You can unlock different items and a costume, which really helps you forge your characters unique look.

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In closing, the game is amazing in every regard. Truly a fighting fans dream. The only thing lacking is an arcade stick. But that is not the games fault, just my preference. Something I hope to remedy in the near future. At the time of writing this article, Sega had recalled all of their Virtua fighter arcade sticks for the PlayStation 3 for some sort of strange glitch. No new release date is available. SighÖSo unfortunately, the Virtua Fighter arcade stick will not be available in the near future.